By
Cochlear Limited
Designed in
Australia
Description
The Cochlear Nucleus CR120 Intraoperative Remote Assistant is a wireless and intuitive hand-held device that performs fast diagnostics on the cochlear implant before the recipient leaves the operating theatre. It measures neural responses to create a hearing profile for immediate hearing. The device requires minimal set-up and training, and provides immediate operational feedback, giving surgeons and their supporting teams confidence that the implant is fully functional.
Key Features
and/or Benefits
The Remote Assistant removes the time-consuming setup required by the previous computer-based telemetry system. The Remote Assistant performs diagnostic testing 30-40% faster than previous systems, enabling faster completion of tests for the operator and saving crucial time for the patient under anesthetic. This diagnostic testing gives the implant recipient greater confidence after surgery that the cochlear implant is fully operational and implanted/positioned correctly.
The traditional system set up is complicated, cumbersome (includes a laptop, software, programming pod and leads) and takes up space in the operating theatre. Cables must be sterilised and run from the patient in the sterile field to the laptop in the non sterile area. They can present a hazard in the theatre. The non-intrusive wireless system of the Remote Assistant allows diagnostics and measurements in theatre without wires or bulky computer-based setups getting in the way of critical theatre activities.
Currently, a specially trained clinician, often a cochlear implant audiologist, attends surgery to test the implant while the recipient is in the operating theatre. Unexpected delays in theatre can impact clinic scheduling and decrease clinic efficiency where time is precious. The Remote Assistant is easy to set up and intuitive to use, enabling an unskilled operator to test the implant - without requiring expert audiological or electrophysiologist time.
The Remote Assistant is simple and intuitive. It is more convenient for existing professionals, but enables less experienced staff to perform intraoperative diagnostics easily. With a dedicated device to the core diagnostic features, and unique expert system automated algorithms, the diagnostics can be performed with a single button press – without any setup, loading or configuration required. Through user experience testing the essential information is distilled and conveyed intuitively to the user allowing immediate and untrained confirmation of the implant and surgery status/success.
AutoNRT (an automated system that measures thresholds from the auditory nerve with the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant) allows clinicians to quickly create an initial set of parameters for the patient, facilitating immediate switch on, reducing subsequent time spent in the clinic and giving the clinician a high degree of confidence that the patient is getting appropriate access to sound. This is particularly useful for young children who are unable to give accurate behavioral feedback.